


The Witch Weekly reveals: Seven Steps to woo the Wizard of your Dreams!

by Cold_Death_Of_The_Universe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29659344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cold_Death_Of_The_Universe/pseuds/Cold_Death_Of_The_Universe
Summary: Remus is very much in love with Sirius. James is very much aware.And when he finds a small magazine in between Remus' notes, he just has to take the piss.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 76





	The Witch Weekly reveals: Seven Steps to woo the Wizard of your Dreams!

**Author's Note:**

> This small one shot is a remnant of ancient times, aka I wrote this like 9 years ago. Initially I wrote this in German, and spent the last week or so translating it into English
> 
> It is very much inspired by this Swedish cosplay video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waoN1J2O_bc
> 
> German, Swedish, English, very much confusing, but I hope you enjoy!

It was Saturday, early June, and summer had made its way into the highlands of Scotland. The weather outside was incredible, with a clear blue sky and only a very light breeze, able to entice most of Hogwarts’ students to flock outside, and watch the giant squid in the lake lazily warming its tentacles on the shore. 

Not everyone was outside though, no. Remus Lupin, despite the great weather was sitting inside, at one of the many tables of the Hogwarts library to be precise, studying for his end of the year exams. His friends were nowhere to be seen, all of them relaxing at the lake, not remotely able to fathom the idea of spending a beautiful Saturday afternoon with their nose in a book. 

Remus sighed, absentmindedly shaking his head. Of course Sirius and James excelled at school, often not even needing to revise much, but he had hoped that at least Peter, whose grades were only kept up by many tutoring sessions by the rest of them, would join him to study today. He already had problems with some of the regular end of the year exams, and Remus was not sure how he would manage the N.E.W.T.s next year. 

Remus sighed once more, turning the page of the thick potions book in front of him, trying to focus his distracted mind on the finer uses of wormwood in potions, when suddenly someone dropped into the seat next to him.

“Hey, Moony! You alright?” James leaned back, putting his feat up and onto the table, a grin on his face. Remus furrowed his brows, shaking his head at his friend. They were far enough in the back, that Madam Pince, would not see them, as she was also preoccupied with reorganising books about herbology. 

“What are you doing here?” Remus asked slightly irritated, moving some of his books out of the way, so James would not get any dirt onto them. He had thought Prongs was at the lake with the others. 

“Lily’s here.” Was the simple answer, and promptly James leaned a bit to the side, to get a good look at the ginger girl, who was sitting a few tables away with some of her friends, also studying. 

“Aha.” Remus rolled his eyes, trying to find the spot where he had just left off reading in the book in front of him. 

It often amazed Remus how stubborn James could be. It mostly was a good feature, the way he never gave up, and just pushed through until he succeeded. It was the reason why he was quidditch captain by now, about to be head boy next year, and how he and the others had managed to become animagi as teenagers, something not even grown adults could easily pull off. 

When it came to Lily.. well. It was more of a bad feature. She had disliked him since their first year, mostly in the beginning due to him picking on Snape, and later because of his many pranks, his arrogance and his disregard of school rules. The other three marauders had often wondered exactly how he fell in love with her, as everything she did was hex him when he misbehaved, and Sirius always had some.. saucy suggestions on why he fancied her.

Nevertheless, James was very much in love with her, and just like with everything else in his life, he did not give up, even when he had already gotten more rejections and curses from her than there were paintings in the whole castle. 

Remus blinked, trying to understand the passage he has just read through at least three times without actually taking anything in, hoping to blend out Prongs as much as possible. He actually managed to read two more pages, before becoming distracted again by his friend. 

Lily Evans had gotten up from her seat, walking towards their direction. James quickly pulled his legs off the table, grabbing some of Remus notes, pretending to read them with great interest. Lily, though, didn’t even so much as glance at him, just pulling out a large book from the shelve behind them, and returning to her seat. 

James on the other hand, instead of resuming to watch her, still had his eyes glued on Remus’ notes. Slowly Remus looked over to him, noticing his irritated expression. 

Had he.. ? 

“The Witch Weekly reveals: seven steps to woo the wizard of your dreams!” Prongs read out loud of the small magazine that had been hidden between his notes, and Remus cheeks immediately turned crimson red.

Oh no, he had. 

“That’s not mine..” came out of his mouth far too quickly, but both he and James knew that that was a very, very weak lie.

With a now not irritated, but quite amused expression on his face, James opened the small magazine, continuing to read. 

“Step one: just be yourself! No one wants to get to know someone, only to find out they really are a completely different person. Don’t change yourself to impress him, but rather convince him with your own, original charm.” James leaned back in his chair again, his feet propped up against the table, bringing his chair to swing back a bit. 

Remus just became smaller and smaller in his seat, and the teasing glance James sent his way certainly did not help. 

“Step two: show him that you like him. A bit of flirting is always allowed.” James wiggled his eyebrows. “Uh-lala.” 

Remus on the other hand contemplated in how much trouble he could get, if he just incendio-ed the little magazine in Prongs’ hand, in a library full of very old, very dry books. 

“Step three: the cold shoulder. When your crush has realised that you fancy him, try to keep him interested by making yourself scarce. He has to think you are a mystery he has to unravel.” James raised his eyebrows for a moment, as if genuinely intrigued by this point. “Cold shoulder, eh? Maybe that is why Lily ignores me.” He looked at Remus over the edge of the magazine, who was still very red in the face. If the whole thing would not be so embarrassing, he would have laughed. 

“I really doubt that, Prongs.” That magazine had only come out this week, and Lily had ignored him for years, without ever doing step one or two. Lily flirting with James? It would rather snow in July. 

James just shrugged, his eyes returning to the magazine.  
“Step four!” he continued. “Let him make the first step! Let him feel strong and proud for wooing you.. are you really sure Lily has not read this?” 

Now Remus had to chuckle, shaking his head.  
“Yes, I’m sure.”

James pursed his lips, continuing to read.  
“Step five: don’t give in immediately. Hesitate when he asks to meet up, and show him that you are hard to get. He has to fight for you.. ok, Moony, Lily has to follow these!” 

“No Prongs. Lily is not hard to get, she is unavailable.” Remus closed the book in front of him, giving up on studying for now. 

James looked over to where Lily was sitting, a faintly sad expression on his face, which was a bit silly, as the boy was currently dating a Ravenclaw girl named Victoria anyways. 

“Step six..” James continued, pulling Remus out of his thoughts. “No kissing on a first date. Your crush should not immediately get what he wants. Step seven: the kiss.” Now his eyebrows were wiggling again. “When it comes to the kiss, don’t hesitate. He mustn’t think that you don’t want it, but you should also not seem too keen.” James weighed his head from one side to the other. “Solid advice, I’d say.”

Remus face was still the colour of a tomato, but his friend did not look as if he was done with that magazine. He just turned the page and cleared his throat.  
“Tips and tricks!” he started, and Remus dropped his head onto his book with a groan. 

He loved James like a brother, he really did, but he really could’ve done without him knowing that Remus read something like that. He admitted, by now he just.. was a bit desperate. Nothing he ever wanted his friends to find out. 

“Tell him if he did well, and reward him for good behaviour.” James read, raising an eyebrow. “Hah, what do they think you want to date? A dog?” James laughed about his own joke, reading on. Remus was for once very happy about that, as this way the boy did not notice even Remus’ ears turning crimson. Yes, well, dog was actually quite accurate. 

“Don’t be a trophy wife! Make sure that he has to fight for you every once in a while.” James laughed again, shaking his head, and apparently abandoning ‘tips and tricks’, turning some more pages of the magazine. “How to become a better kisser?” he chuckled. “Well, I certainly don’t need that, I’m phenomenal.” He finally put the magazine down, putting his arms behind his head.

“You don’t, eh?” Remus sighed, picking up the discarded magazine and shuffling through the pages. He had read the kissing tips, embarrassingly enough, although he had to admit that they didn’t really help him much.

“Of course! What about you?” 

Now that was a question Remus had not expected. While Sirius and James had no issue with dating, even if it was just for a month or two, and even Peter had found a girlfriend shortly before Christmas, no one had ever asked him when he was going to finally go out with a girl, or at least snog one in the three broomsticks on a Hogsmeade weekend. Maybe it was because of his furry problem, that they assumed this was why he never even looked at girls.

Remus didn’t look up, continuing to stare at the pages of the magazine, now opened on a recipe for a romantic Victoria sponge cake.  
“I don’t know.. I.. never tested it.” Remus murmured, still not looking up. 

“But you’d like to..” James said, not even trying to make it sound like a question. Now Remus looked up at him.

“Of course I do.. I’m only human.. well.. something like that at least.” Remus added, dropping his eyes once more. 

James rolled his eyes, stopping balancing his chair and dropping his feet from the table. He leaned forward, a serious but kind expression on his face.  
“You are human, Remus.” 

“Yes.. ok.” Remus sighed, being used to his friends trying to reassure him that he was just like one of them. A normal bloke, just with a little, furry problem. 

“Also, Moony.. it is ok. It is ok if you like boys.” James added, in a slightly lower voice. 

Remus eyes were on him in a second, and the boy was not quite sure what to say in that moment. How.. James knew. Remus was not sure how, he had never.. let anything slip? Especially since he was quite sure to not only like boys, although as mentioned before, his furry problem made him very.. shy around the opposite sex. And he had never dared to approach other boys.  
Maybe it was his intense love for David Bowie that gave it away. 

“You knew? The whole time?” Remus asked carefully, and Prongs just laughed. 

“You’d have to be daft as a dog not to notice that.” He chuckled, and he almost seemed relieved in a way, relieved that this unspoken secret was out now. Remus knew James hated secrets between him and his friends. 

“Daft as a dog is quite.. fitting.” Remus said more to himself than to James, scratching the back of his neck. He would have blushed, if his face had not already been red. Prongs probably had no idea how bloody accurate that statement was. 

Remus did not know what to think. On one hand he was.. extremely happy. At first James had accepted him as being a werewolf, now he accepted him for being not straight. Once again he was amazed how bloody lucky he was, to have a friend like this. On the other hand.. it was a bit weird, having him know.

“Maybe not that daft..” James murmured, and Remus almost didn’t get what he said. 

“What?” he asked, but Prongs just stretched his arms and got up from his seat.

“The air is really bad in here. Dust and coherent thoughts, always a bad combination. I think some hours outside with fresh air would do you good.” He grinned, shuffling Remus notes, together with the magazine together, and putting it in the other boy’s school bag. Remus knew better than to protest, and was on one hand glad that this.. odd conversation was over. On the other hand though, he was still curious what James had been implying. 

Remus followed James down the great stairs and into the main courtyard, to soak in the warm sun and to watch a few first years play with the water in the fountain. It was truly a nice day, and Remus tried to relax on the warmed up stones, but something was still nagging at the back of his mind. Finally, he could not hold back.

“Prongs, be honest. You know who.. who this is about, no?” 

A broad, knowing smile appeared on James’ face.  
“Oh, Moony! I know since our fifth year.” He laughed, shaking his head. Remus stared at him in shock.

“Why have you never said anything?” Remus studied his face his brows furrowed. 

“Why haven’t you?” the other boy just shot back, looking far too amused by the whole situation. He had taken off his cloak and rolled up his sleeves, lunging on the stone bench in a way that would have looked uncomfortable to anyone else. 

“Because.. because..” Remus sighed. “I don’t know.. because its Sirius.” It was odd saying it out loud, and Remus found himself almost blushing. 

“So? Just try it.” James winked. “I also don’t give up when it comes to my pretty Lily!” he grinned. 

Remus shook his head, about to say something about to tell him that this was completely different and that he didn’t want to risk his friendship, but James got up in a swift move. He stretched his hand out to the other boy, his head jerking towards the gates of the castle.  
“Come one, Moony, let’s head to lunch.”

Remus rolled his eyes but followed his friend, entering the castle and heading to the great hall, where they sat down at the Gryffindor table next to each other.

“I think we should end this year with a bang. Last year was good, but this year we should try and top that! I was thinking about-..” James had babbled on, but stopped, when Sirius dropped down opposite of him, laughing loudly. 

“You don’t know what you missed out on!” he started, shaking his head. “Peter fell into the lake! And the giant squid got hold of him!”

Remus could not hold back and look at Sirius with longing in his eyes, loving to see the other one so happy, knowing that soon he had to go back to his family. James grinned at his friend knowingly, causing Remus to avert his eyes, and focusing on the plates in front of him. Gladly Sirius seemed to not have noticed.

“Where is he, by the way? Peter?” Prongs asked, putting some sausages onto his plate. 

“In the dorms, getting changed.” Padfoot chuckled. Remus also had to laugh, starting to eat his roast potatoes, while idly listening to the conversation of his friends, which, as so often, had drifted over to Quidditch, especially as the two planned to visit a game together this summer. 

Not that interested in the league, and which team had what chances of winning this season, Remus’ thoughts drifted off, soon going back to his conversation with James in the courtyard.  
He knew it since the fifth year.. and he had never been bothered about it. 

Remus had always known that James was a really openminded, and tolerant person, and had this wish inside of him for everyone to be treated fairly. They had been friends since their first year, and James had always accepted him, had taken him in as he was, and had been the first one to say ‘who cares? You are our friend!’ when they had found out that Remus was a werewolf.  
Once again Remus became aware, how lucky he was to have friends like them. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Wormtail sat down next to Sirius, his hair still wet. On his cheek there was a red circle, probably caused by the giant squid’s tentacles. 

“Remind me to never, ever again go to the lake with Sirius on my own.” He said, shaking his head. “Instead of helping, he’s cheering.”

Remus coughed around his bite of potato and James had to clap him on the back. There was a mixture of laughing and coughing coming from the boy, and James shook his head.

“I don’t know what you’re on about..” Sirius grinned, shrugging. 

“You cheered on the squid, not me! How do you think I’m feeling, Pads?” 

Now Remus’ laugh-cough mixture intensified, and James was a bit less helpful now, as he started giggling himself.

“No point in cheering for you, I know the winning team when I see it!” Sirius explained, as if that was the most normal, rational thing in the world.

“By Merlin, how did you get out?” Prongs asked, his laughing under control and resuming to clap Remus on the back.

“Professor Kettleburn came by and helped me.” Peter heaped food onto his plate. “Else I would still be in there.” 

Remus managed to finally swallow the piece of potato that had been stuck in his throat, sitting up again and drowning half a pint of pumpkin juice.

Sirius never was true to his name, and didn’t take anything seriously, always joking, always making fun of any situation. Most of the time it was entertaining, Remus had to admit that, but this year one of his more.. dangerous jokes had almost killed a student. Even if none of them liked Snape, being disembowelled by a werewolf was nothing anyone deserved. 

Remus had been very cross with Sirius after that, and the two of them had not talked for weeks. James had been in the crossfire, being both angry at Sirius, as he had been the one dragging Snape back, and on the other hand did not want their friendship to be ruined. Peter had been completely lost, and had cried a lot, afraid to lose his friends. 

One evening Padfoot had just hugged Moony, not letting go and apologising over and over again, promising to never do something like this again, and telling his friend that he would buy him mountains of chocolate if he would just talk to him again.

Of course Remus, still very much in love with the young Black, forgave him, although the memory still hurt. 

The only good thing about the whole debacle was the hug. It wasn’t too often that he hugged his friends, mostly just when they won at quidditch, or managed to pull off a very difficult prank, or when they left Hogwarts, or returned after the holidays.  
Of course, sometimes after a very difficult full moon, he noticed arms around himself, but in that situations, he often was not really aware what was going on anyways. 

He didn’t even feel embarrassed anymore, when his friends saw him after his transformation, naked and hurt and bleeding. Still, he didn’t shower with them, didn’t join them when they swam in the lake, as his scars still were something he didn’t want to show anyone. It was different after the moon, the situation was just so unreal, that it didn’t even matter. 

Remus sighed, not even noticing how he had drifted off again, when Sirius touched his arm. 

“Hey, do you fancy going to the quidditch pitch after lunch? Peter doesn’t trust me, and James wants to watch Evans.” Sirius grinned. Remus’ heart skipped a beat, and everything he could do was nod. Remus had actually planned to study some more this afternoon, but as so often he was unable to say ‘no’ to Sirius.

Remus stayed down in the entry hall, waiting for Sirius to grab his broom from the common room. Sirius flew the brand new comet, what exact model Remus did not know, but he knew that it was pretty fast. It had been his present to himself, after he had inherited his great uncle’s money last term. 

“Ready?” Sirius had reached the bottom of the stairs, broom over his shoulder and an excited expression on his handsome face. Remus could only nod once more, a feeling swelling in his chest, which he always felt when he looked at his friend. 

His friend. Remus had to remind himself of that, when he turned around, drawing his eyes away from the other Gryffindor.  
Together the two of them left the entry hall, crossing the courtyard and the bridge, to make their way over to the quidditch pitch. 

It was a very nice afternoon, the sun was just as bright in the sky as it had been in the morning, and the smell of summer was in the air. 

Arriving at the quidditch pitch, Remus stretched his tense muscles, dropping down into the warm grass and leaning back against the stands, closing his eyes for a moment, just soaking in the smells and the warmth and the feeling of summer.

“You should get out more often, Moony, and not hang around in the library all the time. Would do your muscles great.” Sirius said, causing Remus to open his eyes again. Sirius grinned, and shrugged at Remus’ unamused expression, before he mounted his broom and rose up into the air. Like a young god he flew through the sky, did loopings and turns, rounding the stadium quick like an arrow. 

Since the start of their sixth year, Sirius had managed to become beater of the Gryffindor team, which had enabled it to win the quidditch cup this year, snatching it right from under Ravenclaws hands. Remus could only watch with envy. He himself was everything but a skilled flyer, only able to just manage to fly from A to B, never even daring to do any tricks like his friends. He definitely preferred to stay on firm ground, liking even apparating more than flying. Maybe it was the wolf, Remus often thought. Of course, apart from his monthly transformations there was no sight of him, but maybe it was still this part of himself that was so averse to being so high up from the ground. 

It was shortly before dinner when Sirius landed again. Remus had fallen asleep in his cosy spot in the shade, and Sirius watched his friend fondly for a moment, before pulling him up on his at his sleeve and dragging him towards the castle for dinner. 

The following weeks went by quickly, and Remus did not really have time to think about Sirius, and about what James had told him. He tried to push it somewhere into the back of his mind, and focus on the end of year exams, and also try to ignore the meaningful glances James more than often threw his way, when he and Sirius were sitting together. 

Still, everyone was looking forward to the holidays, even Sirius, who always dreaded going home. But the prospect of meeting up with James for quidditch, and their planed weekly trips to Diagon Alley for ice-cream gave him too something to look forward to. 

“Nice summer! See you at Fortescue’s!” Peter grinned, when the Hogwarts express pulled into London, before receiving a hug from all of them. He left the compartment and made his way to the front of the train, where as always his parents would wait at the same spot. 

Sirius pulled a face, as the train slowed down, growing quiet as he knew he would soon be with his family again. Remus pulled him into a long, tight hug, before stepping back again, hands still on the other one’s shoulders.  
“Look after yourself, yes? And write me!” he empathised, happy about the honest smile he received from the young Black. 

Remus also hugged James, who tousled through his grey-streaked hair, causing him to push Prongs away. 

“Bye, Moony! The offer still stand for the full moons.. just saying.” He winked, before they all got off the train, which had now stopped in King’s Cross. 

Remus knew what he meant, knew that it was James’ way of telling him to look after himself, to take care and to make sure he had someone to patch him up afterwards. James’ worried a lot when it came to all of his friends, but hated to show it. Didn’t go well with his laid back, happy go lucky persona.

On the platform the boys waved each other goodbye for one last time, before looking for their respective families. Remus quickly spotted Lyall, his father, waiting for him, while Hope, his mother, waited outside, as a muggle unable to enter the platform 9 3/4. 

Remus was happy to see his family again, his family who had always cared for him, loved him unconditionally, even after he had been bitten, and had never even thought of turning their back on him, no matter how hard it had been for them. 

Together they made their way home, his mother as always pointing out how much she dislike being ‘beamed’ as she called it (Hope Lupin definitely watched too much Star Trek), reaching their small, but nice house in north Wales, close to a tiny village, with no wizard population apart from Remus and his father. 

As always, Remus spent a lot of time outside, wandering the beautiful hills and forests, read underneath large trees or just let his mind wander, while he was sitting in a small ruin he had discovered when he had been only 10. 

This would be his last summer as a student. After next year he would have to look for a job, or some form of further education. He really didn’t know what he even wanted to do after school, as even though his grades were some of the best in his year, mostly consisting of O’s, he knew that with his.. condition, no one would probably give him a job, or throw him our when they noticed a pattern in his illnesses.  
He had to admit that he was scared about the time after school, and didn’t dare bringing it up with his friends. He knew James and Sirius would probably both offer to financially support him, and he really, really didn’t want their charity, already feeling like a burden to them most of the time. 

The four of them met up in Diagon Alley a week later, only a day before the full moon, and Remus had to convince them again, that he could manage on his own, and that it would be far too risky for them to come and join him, as his parents were around and would most certainly not approve of three teenage boys going down to a werewolf in transformation. 

Sirius seemed a bit.. off. He said he was ok, but Remus noticed that he was distracted, and that he looked as if he hadn’t gotten much sleep lately. Deeply worried Remus went home again that evening, now worried both about the moon, and his friend.

The full moon night was.. harsh. The wolf apparently felt alone, and annoyed, and let out his anger on his own body, and the noise his mother had made when she had retrieved him from the heavily enchanted cellar room he transformed in, told him everything about how badly he must’ve looked. A look in the mirror confirmed this, and showed him that he now had three long flashes across his face, and was just glad that the wolf had not gashed one of his eyes out. He knew that scars would remain, and remain forever, just like the rest, and already tried to find some explanation, if anyone in school would ask about them. 

Lyall and Hope patched him up as good as they could, having healing and pepper-up potions ready, together with bandages, disinfectant and a mixture of silver and dittany, to heal the worst slashes up cleanly. Hope had just put him into his bed, a tea on his bedside table, telling him to try and sleep, when a familiar owl landed on the windowsill, knocking against the glass with its beak.

Remus got up, opening the window and throwing a few owl crackers to the owl he recognised as James’ barn owl, before taking the letter from her and opening it. 

‘Hey Moony!

I hope you survived the moon, and the wolf did not rage too hard this time. I’ll make it short: there is a lot going on at my place right now, and I think you need to come as soon as you read this. I know you’ll probably only want to sleep right now, but I would not ask, if it wasn’t important. 

James’

A deep frown appeared on Remus’ face and he put James’ letter down. He threw his owl out of the window, who was not that happy about it, before quickly getting dressed and grabbing his wand. He was 17 after all, and after reading the letter, he was not sure what to expect. He left his room, running downstairs, where his mother looked at him in shock.

“Why are you dressed, Remus? You should sleep!” she put her hands on her hips, a stern expression on her face.

“James just wrote, there.. there is something going on, he told me to come.” Remus tried to explain, and his mother’s expression grew a bit softer. She knew that his friends knew of his condition, and she also had gotten to know them all after their second year. She also knew James’ and Peter’s parents, and had been the host of multiple summer-sleepovers over the years. 

“Did he say what was wrong?” Lyall came out of the kitchen, a piece of burnt toast in his hand. 

“No, just that it was urgent. Don’t worry, I’ll be back tonight at the latest.” Remus kissed his mother’s cheek, before taking a handful of floo powder, and stepping into the fireplace. 

“I want to say goodbye before we leave, so better make sure you’re home in time!” Hope said sternly, watching her son with worry.

“Godric’s Hollow, Family Potter.” He said clearly, and green flames were all around him, before he was pulled into the chimney. It rushed in his ears, it was cold then warm again, and Remus now remembered why he actually preferred to apparate instead. But in his condition, this was probably a bad idea, and he really didn’t want to split. 

Remus stumbled out of the chimney somewhere in the West Country, and coughingly put a cleaning spell over him, to get rid of all the dust and soot. James came through the door into the living room, where Remus had arrived, grabbing Remus hand before saying anything and pulling him into the Kitchen, where he had just come from.

There, at the kitchen table was Sirius, sitting there with dropped shoulders and dark rings underneath his eyes. He looked sick, pulling his nose from time to time, and his eyes were slightly red, as if he had been crying. 

“What happened?” Remus asked horrified, promptly sitting down on the chair next to Sirius. Carefully he put his arm around his friend’s shoulders, who faintly leaned into the touch.

When no one answered, Remus looked up to James again, who was leaning in the doorway, with his mother and father at the other side of the table, both slightly elderly wizards who looked just as worried as him. James had his hands in his pockets, chewing his lower lip.

“He ran away from home.. and came here. Walked at first and then caught the Knight Bus.” He explained, without looking away from Sirius. “He said.. he said that his father used the Cruciatus curse on him.” 

Remus swallowed.  
Without even thinking about it he pulled Sirius even closer to him, who buried his face in the crook of Remus’ neck. His body was shaking and Remus knew that he had started to cry again, silent tears, that invoked an image in Remus mind, of a small Sirius, crying alone in his room, trying his hardest to not make a noise. Remus had never seen Sirius cry. 

Sirius hand grabbed the fabric of Remus’ shirt, and it felt as if he didn’t have the intention to ever to let go again. 

Now knowing that Sirius was in safe hands, with someone providing comfort, Euphemia and Fleamont Potter pulled James out of the room, and Remus faintly heard them talking to each other. 

Remus’ attention returned to Sirius, when he sat up a bit, rubbing his hands over his eyes.  
“Thanks..” his voice was very faint. 

“Don’t mention it.” Remus smiled, his arm still around Sirius shoulders, holding him, trying to show him that he was there, no matter what. After everything his friend had done for him, this was the least he could do. 

They sat in silence, and James returned a few minutes later, a concerned, but also relieved expression on his face.  
“Mum and dad said you can stay as long as you want. Come, let’s get you into bed!” 

Prongs and Moony helped Sirius stand up, and the three of them left the kitchen, heading to the stairs, where they brought him into James’ bedroom. 

“Mum is preparing one of the guestrooms, but just sleep here for now.” James hugged Sirius for a long while, before the other boy dropped down onto the bed, rolling onto his side, exhaustion overtaking him. Godric’s Hollow was quite far away from London, as it was in Devon, and Remus imagined that Sirius had probably walked for hours, before finally calling the Knight Bus. 

The image of a crying Sirius, nerves still on fire from the Cruciatus curse, with all his belongings left behind at home, wandering aimlessly through muggle London was an image Remus really did not like to see in his mind.

Together with James they left Sirius to sleep, returning to the living room, where they sat down together on the sofa. 

“What’s going to happen now?” Remus asked, raking a hand through his hair. It was still sweaty and grimy from the night before, but he didn’t really care. 

“I don’t know.. my dad has a few auror friends, but he said he doesn’t know if even they could do anything, you know how influential the Black family is. And you can’t prove his father did cast an unforgivable, and I’m sure they would not dare examining his wand for it.” James murmured, and it was obvious that he was stressed out. “But my parents said it would be ok if he moved in. You know they have already kind of adopted him years ago.” He chuckled. 

A stone dropped from Remus heart, hearing that Sirius was welcomed by the Potters. James was right, they had treated him like their own son almost immediately, and James and Sirius were like siblings since their first year at Hogwarts anyways. 

The boy dropped his head onto the back of the couch, closing his eyes for a moment. With the burst of adrenaline now fading, the aches and pains and pure exhaustion from the night before returned. He knew he should probably floo home, and get some sleep, but he didn’t quite wanted to leave Sirius yet, even though he was not even really with him right now.  
He sighed, opening his eyes again. 

James also seemed to relax a bit, now that he knew Sirius was safe and sound in his room, and for the first time this morning, really looked at Remus.  
“Moony, your face..!” he clasped a hand in front of his mouth, a shocked expression in his face when he noticed Remus’ injuries. The other one just waved him off.

“Oh Prongs, you know I’ve looked worse.” Both of them knew that this was not the truth.

Not wanting to face his friend’s worry, Remus leaned his head back again, closing his eyes, and without really noticing it, he fell asleep. 

When Remus awoke again, the first thing he noticed was a strong, warm arm around his hip, and someone breathing into his ear, causing a shudder to run down his spine. Recognising Sirius’ smell, he smiled faintly, already ready to drift off again, when he noticed a rustle from the other side. He opened his eyes, spotting James who sat in a comfortable chair across the room, a quidditch magazine in his hand and a broad smile on his lips. 

Remus grimaced, feeling caught, putting an arm over his face, and closing his eyes again, now really falling asleep once more, the exhaustion from the full moon still too much for his body. 

He only awoke, when Sirius next to him sat up with a gasp. Remus was slightly startled, but dropped back into the pillows, not really having the energy to sit up already. The sun was just about to set outside, and James was still sitting in his chair, now with a different quidditch magazine, a lone candle next to him illuminating the pages. 

Padfoot swallowed hard, as he brought his breathing under control, realising that he was still with the Potters, and still safe. A bit confused, and with tousled hair he looked around himself, looking first to James, then to Remus, before letting himself drop back onto the bed. He looked better than he had in the morning, and smiled faintly when he turned his head and looked at Remus. 

“Hey, Moons.” 

Remus could only smile back, but before he could answer, James got up from his chair.  
“I guess you both are hungry?” he asked, putting down his magazine on a huge stack of even more magazines, and Remus wondered how many of them he had read, while his friends had been asleep. 

Sirius nodded quickly, getting up and stretching his long limbs. Remus followed, although he still was a bit weak, and black spots appeared in front of his eyes. He had to sit down again for a moment, until his vision cleared, and the pounding pain in the back of his head had subsided. 

“Are you alright, Moony?” Sirius turned around, reaching out a hand to help Remus up from the bed, who nodded quickly. Sirius mustered his friend with worry, like James noticing the new scars on the other boy’s face, although he did not comment on it. 

Together the three of them went downstairs, where James’ mum was in the kitchen, waving her wand, as food flew around her, in preparation for dinner.  
Remus really liked James’ parents. They were kind and fun, and were really open minded for a couple of that age. 

Dinner was thus a nice affair, and Fleamont managed to distract everyone enough with anecdotes of his life and his work in potioneering and hair care, that Sirius seemed to relax enough to laugh, and take part in the conversation. 

Euphemia also offered Remus to stay the night, but he declined, flooing home late, where his parents were already about to get ready for bed, large suitcases already standing by the door. 

Hope hurried downstairs, when she heard the fireplace flare up, looking worriedly at her only son.  
“And?” she simply asked, tilting her head.

“It’s Sirius.. he ran away from home, his dad threw a cru-.. he used a really bad, and illegal spell on him.” Remus explained, and his mother gasped. “He’s now going to stay with the Potters, until.. probably until we graduate.” 

“Goodness me…” his mother shook his head. “That poor boy.” 

Hope quickly walked over to Remus, hugging him tightly.  
“Why are you still up? Don’t you have to leave for the airport at five in the morning?” Remus asked when his mother pulled away, raising an eyebrow. 

“I wanted to wait up until you are home.” She smiled and Remus rolled his eyes. “We’ll not wake you when we leave, so I wanted to say goodbye.”

“You are only gone for the weekend, mum.” The boy had to chuckle, but did not resist when his mother hugged him again. 

“I know, but still. I hate leaving you behind, especially so close after the moon.” 

“I’ll be fine. And it’s your best friend’s wedding, that is more important than watching me sleep off my hangover.” 

Hope shook her head with a fond smile, and the two of them went upstairs. 

His parents would fly to Belgium for the weekend, attending the wedding of his mother’s childhood friend, who had moved to the continent for work in politics, and had fallen in love with a French man who worked with her. His father was very, very nervous about flying with a plane the muggle way, as he did not understand how it worked, and had not been allowed to bring his wand. 

Remus hugged both of them goodbye for one last time, before they retired to bed, and Remus himself went into the bathroom, where he filled the tub with hot water and lavender smelling foam. He undressed, removed the bandages around his body, with his injuries, thanks to the potions now healed just enough for him to take a bath.

With a few lit candles he let himself sink into the water, relaxing his joints and muscles, and getting rid of the remaining traces of his transformation.  
He was not sure how long he had sat in the water, just daydreaming and thinking about Sirius, but when he emptied the tub and dried off, the water was almost cold. 

Now feeling a lot better, clean and relaxed, Remus dropped down onto his bed, pulling the sheets over him, and even though he had slept all day, drifted into a comfortable sleep. 

The next morning, long after his parents had already left, Remus was awoken harshly by his door being thrown opened, and no one else but Padfoot and Prongs swaggering in, as if they owned the place. 

“Good morning, Moony!” James said in a way too good mood, causing Remus to pull his pillow over his head.

“Leave me alone..” he grumbled, closing his eyes again.

But, to the surprise of no one, his two friends did not as they were told. Sirius laughed, pulling Remus sheets away, only to gasp loudly but a moment later.

“Merlin, Remus! Put some clothes on!” he exclaimed, and Remus face turned red, realising that he had completely neglected to put his pyjamas on, after he had left the bath yesterday. Fortunately Sirius threw his sheets back over him, and Sirius and James left his bedroom, both still laughing. 

“Your fault, when you enter unannounced!” Remus shouted after them, but only got another laugh back as an answer.

“We’re making breakfast!” was all James said, and Remus heard them going downstairs and into the kitchen. 

Remus sighed deeply, sitting up and running a hand through his hair, that was standing up in every possible direction, before he got up and dressed. After a detour to the bathroom, he also went downstairs, to join his friends in the kitchen. 

He found Sirius at the table, reading the Daily Prophet, while James was in the kitchen, waving around his wand and cooking. 

“Madam Malkin's is having a sale.” Padfoot said, turning the pages of the paper. 

Remus smirked, before stretching his limbs, his joints cracking horribly. Sirius looked up at him at the sound, shaking his head.

“So, the young gentleman has decided to join us, eh?” he joked, putting down the newspaper. 

“Who knows what kinds of mischief you’ll come up with, if I leave you alone for too long.” Remus raised his eyebrows, before walking past Sirius into the kitchen, to make himself a cup of tea.

“By the way, when did you start to become a nudist?” Sirius looked after him, but Remus only gave him the fingers.

James, who was unfortunately a morning person was making scrambled eggs and toast, looking way too happy with himself, wishing Remus a ‘very good morning’, before returning his attention to the food. 

“Where are your parents?” Padfoot asked a bit more serious, when Remus returned with his tea, sitting down opposite of his friend and pulling the prophet towards himself.

“You just missed them by a few hours. They are going to a wedding in Belgium for the weekend.” He explained. “So, why do I have the honour of your visit, then?” he asked, taking a careful sip from his steaming cup. 

“Well, it seems as if your parents trip fits right in with our plans.” Sirius grinned. 

“We thought, after you had declined our invitation for a sleepover yesterday, that we’ll just come over and have a nice day today! I wrote Peter a letter, but you know how he is, he probably won’t get up before noon.” James let three large plates with food float out of the kitchen, followed by cutlery, which landed on the dinner table. 

“Even if I doubt that yesterday was a ‘sleepover’, I really like the idea of a nice day.” Remus grinned. 

“Was my idea after all.” Sirius winked, before starting to shove James’ food into his mouth. 

Remus just also started to eat, not even bothering to answer that. It really had been a good idea of Sirius to come to Remus’ place. There was no one home (even though the boys had not known that before), so no one would throw Sirius any pitiful glances, and also, the village Remus lived in was quite small, their house a bit away from the others, and so one could just wander around the countryside for hours, without ever meeting another soul. 

It was obvious, when looking at Sirius, that his time at home had not been easy. He looked tired and sad, and James did his best to constantly distract his best friend, proposing new pranks for the next school year, and talking a lot about the quidditch game they would visit in a few weeks. 

Around midday, when Remus was making a few sandwiches for lunch, Peter came through the chimney, finally having read James’ letter, a whole backpack full of snacks and butterbeer on his back.  
The afternoon the four of them spent outside, wandering along the fields and through the forest, cooling off their feet in a small pond, while talking about what they intended to do for the rest of the summer. Padfoot turned into a dog and chased a few rabbits, Remus guessing that he probably wanted to get rid of some energy, and finally the four of them retired to Moony’s home. 

With cool butterbeers, they dozed off on the sofa, after having spent the whole day outside. Well, most of them dozed off. Remus was still awake, turning the half empty bottle of butterbeer in his hand. 

Peter’s elbow was in is side, and James’ legs were on his lap, the whole arrangement just uncomfortable enough to keep him awake. The sun had long gone down, and Remus was just thinking about going up into his room to sleep in his bed, when Sirius who had been lying on the carpet in front of the sofa, got up to his feet. 

With a smile the young black held out his hand, and Remus grabbed it, letting himself be pulled up by his friend, almost causing James to fall off the sofa, although he did not wake up. 

“Fancy a walk in the moonlight?” Sirius asked, and once again Remus found himself unable to say ‘no’ to his friend. So he nodded, before both of them slipped on their shoes, and silently left the house through the backdoor. 

The moon was still rather full, but waning, a sight that somehow always managed to relax Remus. The calm after the storm. He sighed, putting his hands into his pockets, feeling a bit cold in the slight breeze.

“How are you, Moony?” Sirius asked after the two of them had walked on in silence for a while. Remus looked at him, a bit surprised at his question, as he had not commented on it so far. 

“Great.” Remus answered, licking his lips before nodding in agreement to his own words. 

“Really? Full moon was only two days ago.. and.. your face..” Sirius looked worried, but Remus just made a downplaying gesture with his hand. 

“Not as bad as it looks.” It had been dreadful. “Not different than usually.” The wolf had been so alone. “It was just.. bad luck.” Fortunately Sirius could not see the rest of his body, and had not noticed it before. 

Sirius was not convinced, and stopped.  
“Remus.. I thought we promised each other not to lie anymore.” He said silently. 

Remus too stopped, turning to his friend and looking at the ground with a guilt-ridden expression on his face.  
“Sorry, Padfoot.” 

The young Black stepped closer to Remus, causing the other one to look up, his lips pressed to a thin line. 

“It was worse than usually, right?” Sirius asked, tilting his head. Remus gave up, and nodded softly. After having spent the last moons together with his friends, the wolf had gone berserk in the cellar, more than he usually did. 

Without saying anything else, Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus. Remus could not really hug back, and just put his head onto his friend’s shoulder, closing his eyes and breathing in his smell. 

“Next time we’ll come over.” Sirius mumbled into his ear, and Remus had to smirk at the words, knowing that that would not be possible, no matter how much he or his friends wanted it. 

Remus was not sure how long they stood there, Sirius’ arms around him. He didn’t really care though, only focusing on the other’s heartbeat, on the feeling of being held by the person he had been in love with for so long. 

Finally they parted again, and Remus looked at Sirius, lost in the other one’s grey eyes. The strong façade he had built up around himself, to be there for Sirius after what his father had done to him broke down, and his shoulders slumped down. 

“What did I do to deserve you?” he asked, a smile on his lips. Sirius just laughed, shaking his head.

“You are such an idiot, Moony. Really.” He put a hand on Moony’s shoulder. “’What did I do to deserve you?’, you.. you don’t even see how amazing you are. You only think about the wolf, but he is not what makes you, you.”

Sirius smile was soft and affectionate. The hand that had rested on Remus’ shoulder moved into his neck, and before Remus could even react Sirius had pulled him close again. But instead of a hug, Sirius pulled him into a kiss. 

Sirius’ lips were soft and determined, and Remus, who had no idea how any of this worked, just went with the flow. This was his first kiss, his very first kiss after all. Sirius pulled Remus closer, putting his arm around the other one’s waist, his fingers drawing small circles onto his back. 

Remus’ heart was rapidly beating in his chest, and he finally managed to activate enough brain cells to pull his hands out of his pockets, to put them into Sirius’ neck, sighing as he leaned against the young Black’s firm chest. 

Sirius used the sigh to intensify the kiss, moving his tongue into Remus mouth, making the other one’s head spin. Remus moaned softly into Sirius’ mouth, unsure if it was out of surprise or arousal, only sure that his ears were probably red as a tomato. He desperately tried to remember what he had read about being a better kisser in the ‘Witch Weekly’ magazine, but his mind seemed to be completely empty. 

Padfoot’s fingers moved into Remus’ hair, his other hand skilfully wandering underneath his shirt, stroking over his warm skin. When his fingers brushed over one of Remus’ many scars, this one fresh and sensitive, Remus flinched and moved back, breaking the kiss, his lips once again pressed into a thin line, his mind racing.

But Sirius did not let him move away much, closing up to his friend in a moment, and wrapping his arms around him.  
“Moony.. it’s alright..” he murmured, pressing Remus against his own body. “It’s alright.” He repeated, as Remus tried to calm down, his hand once again wandering underneath Moony’s shirt, stroking over his skin, his scars. 

Remus heart made a jump, and realisation hit him. Sirius had kissed him, and touched him. He had never cared about what he was, had always been there for him. Did not care about his scars, or how sick he often looked. 

“I’m so in love with you.” Remus blurted out, unable to hold back, unable to keep this secret anymore. 

A broad smile appeared on Sirius face, reaching his grey eyes, as he almost beamed at Moony.  
“And I’m in love with you.” He said, before pressing a firm kiss onto Remus lips. “Probably always have been, I think.” 

Remus bit his lower lip, unable to believe what he just heard. There were still so many questions in his head, so much to say, so much to know, but all of that could wait. Now there was only Sirius, the moonlight and their kisses. 

“Not as dumb as a dog after all.” Sirius smirked, before he pulled Remus back into a kiss, not giving him the chance to answer.


End file.
